Community activists want judge in KC police shooting trial removed from criminal case

Citing a conflict of interest, a group of community activists on Wednesday demanded the recusal of a Jackson County judge who will preside over the trial of a Kansas City police officer accused in the shooting death of a Black man.

Eric DeValkenaere, 42, was indicted last year on charges of first-degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action in the Dec. 3, 2019, killing of Cameron Lamb. The 26-year-old was shot while sitting in his pickup truck in his backyard, prosecutors said.

Members of the organization Getting to the Heart of the Matter gathered on the steps of the Jackson County Courthouse calling for Judge J. Dale Youngs to be removed from presiding over the bench trial scheduled to begin Monday.

”It is often said that justice is blind, but we really need for Kansas City to see this,” said Darron Edwards, lead pastor of the United Believers Community Church. “You cannot have balanced scales if somebody has their hand on the scales. This trial, we believe cannot proceed like this.”

The group alleges there is a conflict of interest between Youngs and Dawn Parsons, one of the attorneys representing DeValkenaere. However, the alleged issue dealt with a separate criminal case that occurred in 2009 and is not related to DeValkenaere.

They also said they believe Youngs may show favor to DeValkenaere based on his past dealings with Parsons, who had previously served as an assistant Jackson County prosecutor.

The group asked that the criminal trial be delayed until another judge is selected. They also want Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker to file a motion to have Youngs recused.

“When you have constitutional violations in the past, what makes you think that these things won’t happen in the present?” Edwards said.

No court fillings had been made, the group admitted. And there is no legal standing that would permit the group to intervene in a criminal matter.

Michael Mansur, a spokesman for Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker, declined to comment.

Missouri Supreme Court ruling prohibits Youngs from commenting on the pending criminal trial.

Edwards was one of several clergy who helped organize Getting to the Heart of the Matter, an initiative among churches in Kansas City to work with the Kansas City Police Department to build community trust and reduce violence.

But in recent months, the relationship between the group and police ruptured after Edwards and other clergy publicly questioned the police department’s narrative of the March 25 fatal police shooting of Malcolm Johnson.

The Lamb shooting occurred after an officer investigating a crash reported a red pickup chasing a purple Ford Mustang. Officers in a police helicopter located the truck driven by Lamb and followed the vehicle.

When Lamb pulled into his driveway at 4154 College Avenue, DeValkenaere and another detective, Troy Schwalm, arrived at the home to investigate the crash. The detectives walked onto the property, with DeValkenaere reportedly knocking over a barbecue grill and a car hood to get to the backyard.

DeValkenaere said that he fired after Lamb pointed a gun at Schwalm.

Police investigating the shooting found Lamb inside the vehicle with his left arm and head hanging out of the driver’s side window. On the ground near his left hand was a handgun, according to police.

When the prosecutor’s office announced the charges, Baker said DeValkenaere’s conduct during the shooting was “reckless” and violated the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures. Prosecutors allege the detectives, who were in plainclothes, did not ask for permission to walk onto the property and did not have a warrant.

DeValkenaere has been an officer since September 1999 and is currently assigned to the executive services bureau.

This story was originally published November 3, 2021 at 2:54 PM.